Pet Rats - Build Your Own Pet Rat Wire Cage!

A Custom Built Rat Cage

I started off with an aquarium tank for my two pet rats, Coffee and Jump, but then I progressed to a custom-built, homemade, DIY cage. It's actually a Ferplast Brio Mini aviary/bird-cage, but I converted it into something that my pet rats could live in.

I found the Ferplast Brio Mini bird cage selling cheap on eBay, so I bought it. The only thing was that it came with no accessories, shelves, perches, etc...just the cage.

Shelf Material

The first thing I did was to look for wooden planks that I could use as levels in it. I managed to find a few, but it wasn't enough. Luckily, I managed to find a few pieces of PVC that they use for conduits to cover wires and stuff. So with my newfound materials, I was all set! Or so I thought.

I had a new problem now. The PVC was fine, but how do I make the wood waterproof, so that it wouldn't soak up the rats' urine?

Waterproof Wooden Shelves

I thought of lacquer, but it was expensive and messy. Then I thought about a plastic placemat or a plastic sheet - but I didn't have any with me at home. Finally I thought about clear tape, the large, 2-inch variety. I had rolls of those, so I wrapped my wooden planks in those, and viola - waterproof shelves!

Attaching the Shelves

Next came the problem of how to attach the shelves to the cage. I decided that the best and easiest way was to just drill a couple of holes in the planks, and attach them to the bars of the cage with cable ties. Easy!

Accessories

On top of the shelves, I also had to put in some toys and accessories to add variety and to make the cage more interesting for my pet rats. I came up with a few ideas:

PVC Pipes - I drilled two holes into a short length of PVC pipe, and attached it to the Ferplast cage with binding wire

'Suspension Bridge' - After I cut up the shirt for making the climbing rope, I had the collar and sleeves leftover. So I tied the two ends of the collars to the opposite ends of the cage to form sort of like a 'suspension bridge' for my pet rats.

Hammock - As for the leftover sleeve portion, I tied binding wire to the four corners of the cut out sleeves, and attached it to the cage. This made a hammock for my pet rats.

Cozy Hammock

Cozy Hammock is the perfect playtime accessory for rats, ferrets and other critters providing a comfortable spot to snuggle and nap after fun and play. The Cozy Hammock even has a fleece lining so your critter will be extra comfortable while napping! Cozy Hammock comes with four strong clips so you can position and safely attach your it to any wire pet home.

End Result

The whole process took me about 6 hours, but in the end it was finally done!

Other Homemade Cages

Rat cages and commercial toys can be expensive, but take heart! Rat lovers all over the internet have instructions and/or blueprints for cheaply homemade cages and toys. Check out some of the custom homemade cages rat lovers have made.

Personally, I have tried both homemade, commercial, and even a improvised/converted commercial cage like what I did with my Ferplast aviary, but nothing beats this cage that I came across. It has simply got to be the best cage EVER. Read my opinions on it here.

About Fancy Pet Rats.com

Hi, my name's Bill, and I created this website to provide information on pet rats, in the hopes of educating more people on how great pets rats make, and also to give existing rat owners useful and helpful information about their pet rats. I hope you like it!

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Random Quote About Pet Rats

I got my first two rats only a year and a half ago and now I have five. A true animal lover, I've had dogs and small pets like hamsters, mice, birds, fish, salamanders and such; but as far as smaller pets go, rats are the most worthwhile. I'm not entirely sure what it is about these creatures which has made me such a fan, but I know that I will have rats as pets throughout my life. The only other animal I can say that about is dogs.